DIRECTV

I must say I am really impressed with the first version of this app! I've been looking for contact information for the developer, but have been unsuccessful. It would be awesome to get them on board, just because while the app is well done, their are some areas of improvement to be made for sure.

Hi folks,
When I looked at the developer web site link it appeared that there is a fee for direct TV. I know this is a service one can subscribe to, is the app different and thus free or is it only available to direct TV subscribers?

Tried to sign up for this app. And it looks like you have to be an AT&T or T Mobile subscriber. I have Verizon. And it doesn't look like we can use the app.

Hi Jeff, Thank you. I'll try again.

I have the app, but there wasn't a place to create a new account and start a free trial. it appears you have to have an account already. Is this true? Also, how's audio description? Is it possible to hear audio-described content?

I found Jeff's review to be dead-on target! One thing, though. You can indeed stop/pause the app by pulling up the Control Center. Yeah, I know; a pain in the rear end, but it does work. One thing to note is that you will lose audio, because this app requires that it has focus in order to play. I'm assuming that this applies to the whole audio/video stream. You can get it to start playing again with the Control Center still up by just double-tapping with the magic two-finger gesture. This app is a keeper for me!

Anyone tried the AppleTV 4th gen version of this app yet who can report if it is accessible?

Hi just signed up and you can sign in thats accessible, but its not accessible going through channels

Hi using a ipad mini3 and directv now is inaccessible.
I can sign in and voiceover speech dies
I had to reboot the ipad

There are definetly some part that are pretty accessible but there are some downside of the app as well.
For example,
The most notable ones are that for each channel we can hear the name of the show but flicking to the left of each channel is a button that is grayed out and says Play. This for visual people are the channel names. Also, for visual people they can swipe to the left to see what is on next or later on for that channel. We can't use this feature at all. So we are stuck with what is on now and have no idea what channel that is on plus unable to see what is on say at 8pm tonight. However, what I have done is have the wife favorite the ones that I use the most. It is placed in order of the favorite we had done. This way I can memorize what channel those are and easily know which channels are what. The other issue is the Network tab. This is where all of the Chanells are listed. Sadly, this is not accessible at all. So at this time there is no way to know what chanels are what.

The other features like the On-Demand shows and movies. They are easy to find and play. The nice part is that you can also do a search on a program that you like. It will list when the next time that show will be on. This is really great to have so that you know when the show is going to be on and what chanel.

As mentioned above in the original post. Yes, the video player is a bit odd. One can use the two fingers double tap to stop and play the shows. There doesn't seem to be any video controls at all for VoiceOver users and for sighted people.

Overall I would say it is about 80% accessible to use. There are quite a bit of elements that do not appear for us and obviously other features we can't do. In the end with some doing and learning to cope with certain things. It can be easily used and I'm happy with the service regardless that I can't do somethings. The major core of just being able to see what is on and what I want to watch is easy enough. It is also a keep for me and will try this on an Apple TV when I get a chance. I have Sling now for this same reason but this new DirectTVNow is good enough that I will replace Sling forthis.

P.S. No there are no audio description avaible at this time. Yes, you have to use the DirectTVNow website to sign up nd you will need somebody with sight to to create that account for you.

You can change channels on the Apple TV by changing the rotor to Direct Touch and swiping either left or right.

Think I may wait a bit on this one. Besides, with everything else i'm paying for currently I wouldn't be able to afford it every month, and if I got the free trial i'd be too tempted. So I think i'll keep an eye on how the app develops and see how it goes. Interesting start for sure.

Hi how do you go through channels when i went to direct touch voiceover didn't say no channel name.
Also how do you play the channel i hit the play button it said play default its a little funky not sure how it works
thanks

Hi,
I was able to create my own direct tv now account successfully on my mac using safari. I didn't even have to have any sighted help. Even though it says it has a captcha, you just check the box that says you aren't a robot, and it works, no sighted help necessary. :) I don't have a windows computer, so I haven't tried it there, but on the mac, you won't necessarily need sighted help. I just thought I would clarify this, and I hope someone finds it helpful.

What's New in Version 1.0.5

Added hint for swipe-up gesture on Apple TV main screen
Added ability to automatically play next on-demand episode (binge)
Added accessibility labels to Guide screen
Improved picture-in-picture support for ABC and NBC channels on iPad
Changed initial focus on Apple TV Guide screen to be on airing show instead of channel
Improved removal of channels from Favorites
Changed to use series image instead of episode image in Continue Watching row of Home screen
Fixed display of Guide screen after rotation on iPhone
Fixed audio playing after a phone call when app is in background

I'm not on Twitter, is there any other way to get in touch with the developers of the app? They seem to have broken the shows on demand feature. I can't make shows play on the iPhone, but I can get them to play in Google Chrome. The play button has completely disappeared for VO on the phone.

I have what is now AT&T TV. It actually works fairly well on my phone though I haven’t spent much time in there. The Apple TV is unfortunately a different story. You can’t read the guide at all. It just repeatedly states “button”. You can get to most networks by browsing, but if you have any regional sports networks they aren’t listed in there. The only way to get to these networks is to do a search.

PS. It actually works well on a Fire Stick, but the Fire Stick likes to buffer on my network when using it.

I finally got through to AT&T chat yesterday afternoon. I had been trying to, when I had time, for about 2 weeks, and hadn’t had any luck. I reported the issue, jumped through the hoops they expect you to jump through when reporting something like that such as reinstalling, and the escalated the issue. They told me to check back tomorrow, now today, and I should have a guide. For some strange reason I am extremely skeptical, but if by some miracle I have a guide I will give them a hell of a lot of credit for being on the ball.

I also took some time to play with the app some more on my iPhone whiz is an XR running IOS 14.3. The app is extremely sluggish and I wouldn’t use it on there if you can help it. Also when you start watching something the audio of the content is muted, and you have to unmute it. It isn’t as sluggish on my iPad.

Cowboy:
Thanks for this info. I use AT&T for my cell service and they are pushing AT&T TV pretty hard every time you call them for something, so I thought I'd look into it. Doing a little research however, I discovered they are loosing TV customers pretty rapidly and are actually looking to sell the TV business altogether. That info, combined with this post stating how problematic the app is, has made my decision for me, I'll stick with other TV streaming services, like YouTube TV. No need to mess with this, despite the pushy customer service reps at AT&T.
Thanks.
Jim

I am trying to figure out how to turn on Audio Description on the DirecTv app, either on the iPhone or on the Apple TV.

I can’t find anywhere to do that.

I am using the DirecTv app and I also have their satellite service.

My family just gt this service so I’m trying to figure out the app. I can open the episode of a show but no play button or anything shows up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.